Though high-tech specialties tend to be considered more prestigious—partly because they've led to great advances in patient care—primary care offers not only the opportunity to do work that society needs but also the intrinsic reward of face-to-face patient care.
Nontherapeutic infant male circumcision is not medically or ethically justifiable and should be deferred until the person is able to decide for himself.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(8):815-824. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.8.msoc2-1708.
Physicians have an ethical responsibility to caregivers whose psychological distress is caused by their experience of the patient’s illness and treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):493-500. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.msoc3-1705.
It is not only less harmful to tell a terminally ill child of his or her impending death than to shield him or her from the truth, but it may allow the child opportunities to make death more meaningful.
Physicians should go beyond basic medical diagnosis and treatment to offer support to families about the gamut of social and emotional issues that are involved with caring for a severely disabled child.